For the given of its geographical location and strategic significance in the geopolitical landscape of the Asia, Afghanistan has been popularly known as ‘Heart of Asia’. It is a landlocked with an area of 652,230 km², located at the crossroads of the North-South and East-West corridors in the Asia. It is a bridge between the South, Eastern, Western and Central Asia. Therefore, Afghanistan has been holding the pivotal position for connectivity and economic integration to these adjacent regions of the Asian continent. It has been very rich in mineral sources. The entire energy projects such as the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI), CASA-1000, Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TUTAP) electricity project (TUTAP), railway-Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan (TAT), and Chabahar-Afghanistan trade corridor, have made the Afghanistan as the ‘Heart of Asia’. However, all these energy, electricity projects, railway lines, and corridor depended upon peace and stability of Afghanistan. In this backdrop, the extra-regional powers have been concerned about the security situation in Afghanistan in general and the regional countries in particular. In the present context, Afghanistan has been falling in the ‘Arc of Turbulence’. For the given vested interests, peace, prosperity, stability and security of Afghanistan have been holding paramount importance for regional and extra- regional countries. South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF) 19 Avenue des Arts 1210 Brussels Belgium [email protected]www.sadf.eu +12 026 834 180 +32 2 808 42 08 Reg. Num. BE 833606320 FOCUS SADF FOCUS 16/01/2017 No. 28 ISSN 2406-5633 SADF Keywords: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Terrorism, NATO, US, Peace-making, History of Afghanistan, Diplomacy, Peace-building. Peace-making in Afghanistan: Heart of Asia is in Question? Dr. Bawa Singh
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For the given of its geographical location and strategic significance in the
geopolitical landscape of the Asia, Afghanistan has been popularly known as
‘Heart of Asia’. It is a landlocked with an area of 652,230 km², located at the
crossroads of the North-South and East-West corridors in the Asia. It is a
bridge between the South, Eastern, Western and Central Asia. Therefore,
Afghanistan has been holding the pivotal position for connectivity and
economic integration to these adjacent regions of the Asian continent. It has
been very rich in mineral sources. The entire energy projects such as the
Keywords: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Terrorism, NATO, US, Peace-making, History of Afghanistan, Diplomacy, Peace-building.
Peace-making in Afghanistan: Heart of Asia is in
Question?
Dr. Bawa Singh
2
In order to control the ongoing civil war and terrorism, several efforts have been made
in the direction of peace-making. After the exit of Soviet Union, the Geneva Accord (1988)
was signed to control terrorism in Afghanistan. The Bonn Conference, the UN-sponsored
process was started in 2001, for the political reconstruction. The National Consultative Peace
Jirga (NCPJ), was constituted soon after taking over by the President Hamid Karzai (7
December 2004 to 29 September 2014). It was intended to bring together all the stakeholders
like the tribal elders, officials, and local power brokers to deliberate and discuss peace-
making by ending of the insurgency. The Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG),
comprising of the US, Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan, was another step soon after the
withdrawal (December 2014) of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The most
important peace-making process the ‘Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process’ (HoA-IP) has been
going on since 2011. Regrettably, all the processes have been failed to achieve peace and
stability in the Afghanistan, for the given of geopolitical dynamics of the region.
Afghanistan in The Throes of Civil War: The Curse of Geopolitical Cobweb
The history of Afghanistan had been bruised and battered by the foreign invaders. The
external powers have vested interest in Afghanistan on account of its geostrategic and geo-
economic salience. In the recent years, Afghanistan problem has been exacerbated on account
of the geopolitics of the region and Afghan civil war. Against this background, peace has
become a distant dream for the Afghani peace loving people. Ahmadzai (2014), has argued
that notwithstanding of peace-loving population of Afghanistan, it had been despondently
exploited by external and regional powers. He has further argued that the external invasions
and the mutual mistrusts of the external powers over Afghanistan had left it politically
fragmented, unstable and economically impoverished nation.1
Afghanistan, has popularly been known as the ‘Graveyard of the Empire.’ It had been
caught in the political conflict. During the late 19th century, Afghanistan had become part of
the Great Game power struggles. Saghafi (2011), has asserted that notwithstanding of the
engagement and intervention of the United States (US) and the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) in Afghanistan for a considerable period, the peace and stability
1 Ahmadzai, Aziz Amin. (2014). The Dream of Peace in Afghanistan. The Diplomat. Accessed from,
http://thediplomat.com/2014/03/the-dream-of-peace-in-afghanistan/, accessed on 8 May, 2016. 2 Saghafi-Ameri, N. (2011). Prospects for peace and stability in Afghanistan. Afghanistan Regional
Dialogue Background Paper, (1).
3
remained a distant dream.2 On the other hand, Stobdan (1999) claimed that geopolitical and
historical background could be held responsible for complicating the security situation in
Afghanistan.3
Afghanistan has been caught in the throes of the civil war partly started in 1929 when
the King Habibullah Ghazi (17 January 1929–16 October 1929) had briefly toppled the
Afghanistan government under the King Amanullah Khan (28 February 1919 – 14 January
1929). The second phase of the civil war very critical in which Afghanistan had been
suffered from many geopolitically designed incidents. It included the key events like the
Saur Revolution (1978), the Soviet–Afghan War (1979–89), Afghan Civil War - the collapse
of the Communist Najibullah government (1989–92); and War in Afghanistan –ISAF’s
involvement against the Taliban and al-Qaeda ((2001–14).
During the 1980s, the civil war has been started and accentuated on account of the aid
and support extended to the warring groups in Afghanistan by the external powers having
divergent geopolitical and geostrategic interest. Under the Geneva Accords of April 1988,
the countries had decided to discontinue the aid to the conflicting parties in Afghanistan. But
geopolitics has played its deleterious role and rather than being helpful in the implementation
of the accord, created the Mujahedeen, who became a headache for not only for Afghanistan
and creators but the entire globe.
Rationale of Civil War in Afghanistan
It has been argued that the strategic location has become the geopolitical curse for
Afghanistan. Historically, it has been remained as turbulent, being entrance for the external
invaders and bridge between Asia and Europe. For the given rich mineral sources like gold,
copper, antimony and partly regional geopolitics, entrapped Afghanistan into a series of
serious events of civil war included the Saur Revolution (1978), the Soviet–Afghan War
(1979–89), Afghan Civil War -collapse of the Communist Najibullah government (1989–92);
and War in Afghanistan –ISAF’s involvement against the Taliban and al-Qaeda (2001– 14).
The root causes of Afghanistan civil war and terrorism, have been mooring around
the dynamics such as the onset of Cold War geopolitics in general and Soviet–Afghan War
(1979-89) in particular. Internally, Afghanistan is multi ethnolinguistic composition, in 2 Saghafi-Ameri, N. (2011). Prospects for peace and stability in Afghanistan. Afghanistan Regional
Dialogue Background Paper, (1). 3 Stobdan, P. (1999). The Afghan conflict and regional security. Strategic Analysis, 23(5), 719-747.
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which Pashtuns has the majority and monopolization. It has created discontentment among
the various other groups. Apart for these, the other causes included the poverty, inequality,
underdevelopment and ethnic discontents. Though, internal reasons were responsible for
civil war, but the geopolitics of the region, had also played the most disparaging role in
accentuating the same. The civil war has started with the military intervention of the
erstwhile Soviet Union to assist the communists. In order to contain this communists, the
United States had been provided financial and strategic support to those who had been
fighting against the Soviets. Out of this fight, the geopolitical volcano had been exploded,
and manifested regarding civil war and Mujahedeen in and around Afghanistan. Since then,
the Mujahedeen has been causing headache to the ‘Heart of Asia.’
The creation of the Taliban group could be traced back to the Soviet–Afghan War
(1979-89). The intervention of Soviet had been made the Pakistani leadership apprehensive
regarding its security. To protect its unity, integrity, and sovereignty, the Pakistani Zia-ul-
Haq (1977-88), had sent General Akhtar Abdur Rahman, Director General of ISI (1979-
1988), to Saudi Arabia to urge to extend its support to Afghanistan’s struggle against Soviet
forces. It has been claimed by Katzman (2013) that for its protection and support, the Taliban
had been remained in contact with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate. Price
(2012) has also argued that Saudi Arabia and the US had joined Pakistan and extended their
financial and strategic support to the latter to fight against the Soviet Union.4 Scholars like
(Bhardwaj & Sharma: 2014; Agrawal, 2014: 55) have echoed the same opinion as Katzman
(2013) and Price (2012) that President Zia-ul-Haq (1978-88) associated himself with the
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (a Sunni Deobandi Political Party of Pakistan- established in 1945) to
get its support for the Taliban to fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan. Later on, the
Pakistan President has also deployed General Akhtar Abdur Rahman (DG of ISI) to
manipulate the insurgency against the Soviet Union inside Afghanistan. The head of the
Taliban, Mohammed Omar along with cadres of the group about 90,000 had been trained by
Pakistan's ISI during the Soviet intervention.5
Hezb-e-Islami is another terror group couched in Islamist Organization, was created
by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar in 1977, to fight the Communist Government of Afghanistan and
4 Price, C. (2012). Pakistan: A Plethora of Problems. Global Security Studies. 3(1), 53. 5 Bhardwaj, Kritika & Sharma, Ashok K. (2014). Malala: The Crusader of Fearless Freedom. New Delhi:
for Congress, Congressional Research Service. 7 Khan, R. M. (1991). Untying the Afghan Knot: Negotiating Soviet Withdrawal. Durham: Duke
University Press.
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that the Afghan government would hold the event in April or May 2010, intended to bring
together tribal elders, officials, and local power brokers across the country, to discuss peace
and the end of the insurgency. On September 7, 2010, the High Peace Council was
constituted, the former President Burhanuddin Rabbani (1992-96) as its Chairman, to follow
peace talks with the Taliban. However, the offer made by the Karzai government met with
failure as the militants out-rightly rejected the NCPJ. They called it as a phony reconciliation
process, only meeting the interests of external powers. Peace talk could be held only when
the foreign troops left, and the new parliamentary election would take place.
Quadrilateral Coordination Group Peace Talk
The Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG), is comprised of the four countries like
Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the US, has been consistently holding talks to find the
solution to the Afghanistan crisis. This group has already met four times in search of
resolution of the Afghanistan crisis. But the major party of the crisis –Taliban, had yet to
come to the table. To handle the peace process “more efficiently,” the Afghan High Peace
Council (HPC) was also revamped. But till date, Taliban has not turned up to the table. In the
month of March 2016, an ultimatum to the Taliban has been issued to come to the negotiating
table with the Afghan government by early March 2016, otherwise, face the military
offensive.
The Sixth Heart of Asia (2016): The Amritsar Declaration Pivoted Towards Prosperity
and Terrorism
In the direction of peace-making, the Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process (HoA-IP) in
November, 2011 has been initiated between Afghanistan and its neighbours straddling from
Central Asia, Middle East, South Asia, and to discuss the regional issues, covering political
and economic cooperation in general and common threats, including counterterrorism,
counter-narcotics, poverty, and extremism in particular.
The HoA has mainly three elements: first- political consultation between Afghanistan
and its neighbour and extended neighbours; second- to implement the confidence building
measures (CBMs); and third, to bring the greater coherence among the fourteen supporting
countries and the supporting Organisations such as the UN, NATO, SAARC, SCO etc.
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The Sixth ‘HoA-IP’, took palce in Amritsar (India) on 3-4 December, 2016, launched
with the main theme of the conference was “Addressing Challenges, Achieving Prosperity.”
The Sixth HoA Ministerial Conference, jointly launched by Indian PM Modi and Afghanistan
President Ashraf Ghani on 3 December 2016. During the HoA-IP several important security
and economic issues including terrorism have been discussed to finalize the Amritsar
Declaration. Afghanistan has drafted and chaired the Regional Counter Terrorism
Framework. About forty countries in various capacities have participated in the Sixth HoA
(Amritsar).
During the Sixth HOA-IP, several areas of concerns of the Heart of Asia have been
identified, discussed and deliberated upon to sort out. Terrorism was perceived as the biggest
threat to Afghanistan’s peace, prosperity and security. All the participants had felt the need to
end all forms of the terrorism. Economic support is to be stopped. The safe havens and hubs
providing sanctuary to the same are to be denied. All the members of the HoA-IP had
expressed the grave concerns over the violent activities happening in Afghanistan and the
adjacent regions caused by Al Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Toiba, Daesh (ISIS) and Jaish-e-
Mohammed, Haqqani Network etc.
Drug trafficking is also perceived as a serious concern. The urgency was realized to
stop nexus between drug menace and terrorist entities in Afghanistan. A draft of
comprehensive convention on international terrorism (CCIT) was finalized in the conference.
The participants of the HoA, have reiterated strong support for the use of Afghanistan’s
location in order to heighten the regional economic cooperation. The important steps for
regional connectivity included like developing the Chabahar port (Iran-India-Afghanistan);
jointly building of the One Belt One Road (OBOR) and the Maritime Silk Road (MSR)
between China and Afghanistan. The HoA welcomed an agreement between the international
community and Afghanistan, for continuing the financial support to the Afghanistan National
Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) until 2020.
Now the main question is, how the process of HoA would be helpful in curbing the
main existential threat to the Afghanistan independent identity, its peace, prosperity and
stability? It has been well established that the civil war and terrorism partly because of
regional and extra-regional geopolitics. The same geopolitical players are the members and
participants of the HoA-IP. By seeing their practical moves, it is very easily recognized that
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their objectives and efforts to curb terrorism have not been sincere. Then, how could peace,
prosperity, security and stability could be established and achieved in Afghanistan?
Geopolitics of Afghanistan: The Peace Talks in Question
Afghanistan has geopolitical and geostrategic salience not only for the region, rather
for the major powers of the world. Smith (2014), has argued in one of his articles that
Afghanistan is geopolitically critical for the US for two regions. Its geostrategic location has
provided surveillance facilities to protect the US interests as well as maintaining influence
not only Afghanistan but in the region as well. Secondly, Afghanistan is a paramount
geopolitical asset for the US to makes its presence felt in the very geo-strategically region
For the geopolitical interests, Afghanistan has been established as a battleground for
fulfilling their interests through aid and abet to the terror groups. The external powers
exploiting the internal fighting and discontentment among the local people helped in creating
Mujahedeen in 1980 which later on turned to be Taliban in 1994. Coll (2004: 201-202), has
argued that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Pakistan's Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI) have supported this group during the Soviet War (the 1980s) in
Afghanistan.8 Later on, the insurgent guerilla groups had started fighting against the US-led
NATO forces and the government of Afghanistan. According to some scholars like (Osinga
2005; Saikal & Maley: 1990), the US along with UK, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan started
supporting financially the warlords (Mujahideen) who could reign the communism of the
Afghanistan central government as well as to weaken the pro-Soviet regime.9 Aligning of
Afghanistan with the Soviet Union in general and the West, in particular, further enraged
Pakistan. Pakistan wanted to keep Afghanistan under its control and to align of the latter’s
with the West further enraged Pakistan. da Silva & Simionato (2013) have argued that
Pakistan’s Minister of Interior, Naseer Ullah Babar, recruited, trained and armed some
madrasa students to join a few former Pashtun Mujahedeen fighters.10
8 Coll, Steve. (2004). Ghost Wars. New York: Penguin. 9 Osinga, F. P. (2007). Science, strategy and war: The strategic theory of John Boyd. Routledge; Saikal, A.,
(2012). Modern Afghanistan: a history of struggle and survival. IB Tauris. 10 da Silva Reis, J. A., & Simionato, G. H. (2013).The SCO and Post-War Afghanistan: New Challenges
to Regional Cooperation. UFRGSMUN | UFRGS Model United Nations Journal, pp. 132-158.
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During the last one and half decade, several conferences, summits have been
organized to bring peace and stability in the country. The QCG peace talk is going on, of
which three rounds have already taken place. Though this peace talk is started with good
intention, the strategy is in question. Peace talk is not a one-way talk or discussions with only
with the moderate groups of the terrorists. Dawod (2016), has argued that till the time, the
perpetrators of violence have not been engaged, the peace cannot be built in the war-torn
country.11
Dawod (2016), was of the opinion that lingering conflict could not be ended with a
"win-lose" solution, rather it should be a ‘win-win model.' Thus, the peace process must
acknowledge the perspective of the opposition party as well. In order to reach an acceptable
agreement for resolution of the conflict among the warring groups, Afghanistan and
mediators, strict terms and conditions not to be imposed on the warring groups. Rather than
earning the trust of the fighting groups, the stern warning is being sent by the QCG which is
not going to give any result. For setting the ball rolling, some of the preconditions set forth by
the warring groups be accepted to bring them to the table.
The military is not the solution of Afghanistan civil war. Notwithstanding the troop’s
long engagements and deployment, the peace is still a distant dream for the Afghanistan
people. Rather the situation has become more volatile, and thousands of civilians have been
killed. The US does not want to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, rather the deployment
of soldiers will be continued till 2024. The military solution has not proved substantive
measure to restore peace in the country; rather the situation has become more turbulent and
worsened. The statement of President Obama in this context, is worth mentioning here, “In
key areas of the country, the security situation is still very fragile, and in some areas, there is
a risk of deterioration.”12 On the other hand, some scholars like Rees, Hagelin, and Leffler
(2009), are strongly convinced that violent extremism is a human problem which is requiring
human solutions.13 The same views have been expressed by John Rees (2011) in an interview
11 Dawod, Mohammad. (2016). Six Essential Factors For A Successful Afghan Peace Process. Accessed
from http://gandhara.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-factors-for-sucessful-peace-process/27529386.html, accessed
on 7 May, 2016. 12 Rosenbern, Mathew. (2016). U.S. troops to stay in Afghanistan. The Hindu, 16 October, 13 Rees, Brian; Hagelin, John and Leffler, David. (2009). Military Solution to Terrorism Doomed?
Military Presence Could be the Solution, If…. Accessed from, http://intentblog.com/military-solution-
terrorism-doomed-military-presence-could-be-solution-if/, accessed on 8 May, 2016.
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given to RT TV network. He believes that there is no military solution to the Afghan
situation. Rather the “solution lies in the hands of the Afghan people.”14 According to a
documentary filmmaker Robert Greenwald (n. d.) who did shoot in the war-torn country
convinced that, “The problem in Afghanistan is not a military one, it is political, ideological,
and people want solutions that go beyond the sending of more troops.”15 The same views
have been expressed by the leadership of Afghanistan and Pakistan as well.
In the recent years, China has been engaged at various level through many
mechanisms. Huasheng (2015), has noted that China’s engagements in Afghanistan due to its
national interests, awareness of its responsibility, as a dominant power in the region, to
promote security and economic development. China shares a border with Afghan, which is a
hotbed of terrorism and extremism, whereas its Xinjiang province is also vulnerable to the
effects of terrorism and extremism. Thus, security is one of the main concerns of China to
engage with Afghanistan.16
China is one of the QCG members. China has been engaging with some countries at
the bilateral and trilateral level and is also part of various multilateral peace –making
initiatives. Though China is per se victim of terrorism, its approach towards the terrorism is
of a double standard. Most of the time, China has been accusing the Western world of a
double standard on counter-terror, whereas on the other, per se is also doing the same.
Recently, a terrorist attack took place in India, and given this; it urged the UN committee to
blacklist those terrorists. However, this bid of India was gridlocked by China. Its support to
the Indian move would enrage Pakistan, which China does not want at any cost. This move
on the part of China corroborates the Chinese selective terror approach. Seeing the Chinese
record in helping to combat terrorism, German Marshall Fund fellow Andrew Bell noted that
14 RT (2011). There is no military solution to Afghan problem – anti-war activist. Accessed from,
https://www.rt.com/news/afghanistan-karzai-us-democracy/, Accessed on 7 May, 2016.
15 Brave New Films (n.d.). A Military Solution in Afghanistan Will Fail, says “Real Time Documentary